Anderson assigned back to Austin in D-League

Spurs No. 1 draft pick James Anderson was assigned Monday to the Austin Toros of the Developmental League.

It marked the second time this season that Anderson has been sent down to Austin. He originally spent two games there last month as he rehabbed a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot as he recovered from an injury.

Anderson originally sustained the injury that was diagnosed on Nov. 11.

Before the injury, Anderson appeared in six games for the Spurs and averaged 7.0 points and 1.5 assists in 17.7 minutes.

But since he return on Jan. 29, he has not played in more than five minutes in any of his three games. He’s averaging 1.7 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

Spurs coach Greg Popovich was unavailable for comment at Monday’s practice before leaving for Detroit. But he is likely thinking it will be better for Anderson to rehab with the Toros over the next two weeks and play 20-25 minutes per game to help with his strength and conditioning. That amount of time likely would not been available if he had remained with the Spurs during the rest of the Rodeo Road Trip.

I’m curious Spurs Nation. Do you think that sending Anderson to the D-League is advantageous at this part of the season, or should Popovich be trying to carve out some minutes for him in the team’s regular rotation?